Will walked slowly back after saying goodbye to the One-Sword Dojo, feeling extremely pleased.
He had finally found a way to become stronger.
He didn’t know how effective it would be yet, but the important thing was that he had taken the first step.
Once you have a beginning, the rest can’t be far behind.
By the time he returned to the shop, it was almost noon.
He grabbed a quick meal at the small restaurant nearby and then went straight to the workshop.
Will hadn’t forgotten that he still had today’s work to finish.
He slowly operated the machinery, processing one simple component after another.
The work went much faster than he had expected.
In less than three hours, he had completed the day’s quota.
After saying goodbye to Red, Will returned to his room.
It’s still so early.
What should I do?
After thinking for a while, Will decided that he could probably begin some basic physical training.
Yeah.
First, let’s see what kind of physical condition this body is actually in.
He dropped to the floor of his small room and began doing push-ups.
One…
two…
three…
It wasn’t long before sweat appeared on his forehead.
He continued for a while longer.
Then he couldn’t move anymore.
“What the hell?
I didn’t even do twenty!”
“This is the world of One Piece!
How can this body be this pathetic?”
“Although I knew it wouldn’t be strong, I never expected it to be this bad.”
Will got up and went downstairs.
When he reached the first floor, he saw Red sitting idly behind the counter.
Will walked over.
After hesitating for a moment, he said,
“Boss, I enrolled at the One-Sword Dojo today.”
Red looked up in surprise.
“Not bad, Will.
You’ve only been here a day and you’ve already enrolled in a dojo.”
“What’s wrong?
Are you having some trouble?”
“Yeah, Boss.”
“I spent more than 13,000 Beli on the enrollment fee today, and I don’t have any money left.”
“So I was wondering…
could you advance me part of this month’s wages?”
“I know it’s not a good look to ask for wages on my first day of work, but I really don’t have a choice.”
Will lowered his voice and deliberately looked embarrassed.
Red thought about it for a moment.
“All right.
How about this?”
“Here’s 3,000 Beli.
Take it and use it for now.”
Will sighed inwardly.
But on the surface, he looked delighted.
“Thank you so much, Boss.”
He accepted the 3,000 Beli, said goodbye to Red, and left the shop.
As he walked, Will began thinking.
I really need money.
Three thousand Beli might indeed be enough for an ordinary person to survive for a month.
But for someone trying to become stronger, it was far too little.
Training required a huge amount of physical activity, which meant he would need plenty of food.
And not just ordinary food.
Preferably lots of meat.
Then there were weighted training equipment and weapons.
He didn’t need those things yet, but it wouldn’t be long before he did.
Even if he wanted to rob someone now, he was only capable of robbing someone at the level of stealing a child’s lollipop.
Robbing an adult?
Impossible.
There’s also the option of selling information.
But that’s too dangerous.
What if the buyer refuses to pay and decides to silence me instead?
That would be hilarious.
No.
The problem is still a lack of strength.
Strength…
Wait.
Didn’t I just join the One-Sword Dojo?
The master is probably beyond my reach for now, but that Senior Brother Kahn should at least have some combat ability, right?
He’s essentially the senior disciple of the dojo, after all.
If I really want to sell information, what should I sell?
Roger surrendered himself to the Marines?
Whitebeard’s poor health and dependence on medication?
The identities of the Revolutionary Army’s members?
The appearances of the Five Elders?
No.
Those pieces of information might be worth astronomical sums, but I’d be practically begging to die.
Skypiea.
The location of Skypiea is a pretty good choice.
Most ordinary people don’t even know that Skypiea exists.
They think it’s merely a legend.
Anyway, I’ll find Kahn and discuss it with him first.
I don’t even know what his attitude will be.
After walking for a while, Will arrived back at the One-Sword Dojo.
This time he was more familiar with the place and walked straight inside.
He didn’t find Kahn in the courtyard, so he went directly to the inner room and gently knocked on the door.
“Master, I’m Will, the new student.
May I come in?”
“Come in.”
Niss’s steady voice came from inside.
Will entered and saw Niss still sitting in the room.
“Master, where did Senior Brother Kahn go?”
“I have something I want to discuss with him.
I’m still new here and don’t know the others very well, so I apologize for disturbing you.”
Niss looked at Will.
“Kahn should be practicing his swordsmanship in the hills behind the dojo.”
“Go through the back entrance.
You’ll reach the outskirts of Loguetown.
Kahn should be there.”
“Thank you, Master.
Sorry to disturb you.”
“I’ll take my leave.”
Will glanced at Niss.
The old man nodded.
Will turned around and left the room.
Once outside, Will smiled.
He looked quite pleased.
He found the back entrance and headed through it.
Behind the One-Sword Dojo was a large open area.
Beyond the clearing stood a forest.
And there was Kahn.
He was practicing swordsmanship, repeatedly swinging his blade through the air.
Will had never formally studied swordsmanship before, so he couldn’t judge Kahn’s skill level.
Still, he assumed it couldn’t be too bad.
After all, Kahn was essentially the dojo’s senior disciple.
Will walked over and called out,
“Senior Brother Kahn, practicing your swordsmanship?”
“It’s Will!”
Kahn smiled.
“What brings you here?
Your training doesn’t start until tomorrow.”
“Don’t tell me you’re already impatient to learn swordsmanship?
Hahaha!”
Will laughed along with him.
“Senior Brother Kahn, I’ve come to make a deal with you.”
“A big deal.”
“If everything goes well, you could make hundreds of thousands of Beli.”
Kahn immediately became skeptical.
“What kind of big deal?”
“If it can make hundreds of thousands of Beli, does it involve something dangerous?”
Will sensed an opportunity and continued.
“Senior Brother Kahn, I told you I came to Loguetown because of a shipwreck.”
“My family used to be a fairly influential family in Water 7.”
“Later, my family traveled to the East Blue to visit a close friend of my father’s.”
“On the way, we were attacked by a powerful pirate crew.”
“I was the only one who survived by sheer luck.”
“Oh?”
Kahn frowned.
“Then why didn’t you seek refuge with your father’s friend?
Why are you working here in Loguetown instead?”
Will gave a bitter smile.
“People’s attitudes change once the dust settles, Senior Brother.”
“Ever since I was little, my father taught me never to place too much hope in anything.”
Kahn was surprised by what he had heard.
Could a nine-year-old really say something like that?
Absolutely not.
An ordinary child couldn’t possibly be this composed and mature.
And the way he speaks…
everything is so organized.
This kid definitely has some kind of background.
Kahn became interested.
“So, what exactly is this deal worth hundreds of thousands of Beli?”
“Information.”
“The exact location of Skypiea.”
“And the City of Gold really exists.”
Will saw that Kahn was taking the bait and increased the temptation.
“Skypiea?”
“Does Skypiea really exist?”
“Isn’t it just a legend?”
Kahn’s eyes widened as he stared at Will in disbelief.
Will smiled.
“Of course it isn’t a legend.”
“Skypiea really exists.”
“There’s even a race there that’s different from the people of the Blue Sea.”
“My father visited Skypiea when he was young.”
Kahn fell silent for a moment.
After thinking it over, he said,
“If you know its exact location, then this information really is worth a lot of money.”
“And it shouldn’t be difficult to sell.”
“Wait here.”
With that, Kahn headed toward the dojo.
Not long afterward, he returned carrying two bags.
He walked over to Will and tossed one of them to him.
“Come with me.”
“I’m taking you to the black market in Loguetown.”
“Before we enter the black market, put the clothes inside the bag on.”
“But don’t change yet.”
“And as for how we’re splitting the money…
don’t forget that I’m acting as your bodyguard.”
“Five-five split.”
“You won’t be losing out, Senior Brother Kahn.”
Kahn thought about it.
“A fifty-fifty split isn’t bad.”
“Let’s go.”
Kahn led Will through the winding streets of Loguetown.
After taking countless turns, they finally arrived at what appeared to be a bar that had been closed down for years.
Outside, Will and Kahn put on two oversized black robes with hoods.
The most ridiculous part was that the robe was far too large for Will.
He looked as though he were wearing a wedding dress.
The hood didn’t fit properly either.
But there was nothing he could do about it.
They would have to make do.
Inside the bar, a masked man sat behind the dilapidated counter.
In a gloomy voice, he asked,
“Customers.
What can I do for you?”
“We’re here to sell information.”
Will tugged at his hood.
He found the stupid thing incredibly uncomfortable.
“What information?”
The masked man’s expression became strange as he watched Will’s movements.
He had been buying and selling information for a long time.
He had seen customers who came in and immediately started eating.
He had seen people who liked to smoke.
But this was the first time he’d seen someone walk in and immediately start fiddling with the ridiculous thing on top of his head.
“The exact location of Skypiea.”
Will had made the hood even more uncomfortable by moving it.
The material was rough against his face, and it covered his mouth, making it difficult to speak.
He had no choice but to use both hands to straighten it, looking as though he were afraid his head might fall off.
“What proof do you have that the information is genuine?”
The masked man could no longer maintain his gloomy tone.
His shoulders were trembling.
“The Shandia.”
“The Golden Bell.”
“The giant snake.”
“God, Gan Fall.”
“The giant beanstalk.”
“Shandora, the City of Gold.”
“And the Poneglyph.”
Will finally finished fixing the cursed hood.
He seemed to let out a sigh of relief as well.
“Not bad.”
“Those are all things related to Skypiea.”
“Some of them are extremely classified.
There are even things here that I didn’t know about.”
“So, how much are you asking for this information?”
Once business was discussed, the masked man’s shoulders finally stopped trembling.
Will thought carefully for a moment before naming his price.
“One million Beli.”
“And there may be enormous amounts of gold there.”
The masked man shook his head.
“One million is impossible.”
“Even if there’s a huge amount of gold, you’re only selling information.”
“Five hundred thousand at most.”
The masked man had regained his gloomy voice.
He answered in a low tone.
Will didn’t say anything more.
He simply gave one number.
“Six hundred thousand.”
“Deal.”
The masked man produced a box.
“If the information turns out to be inaccurate, you two know what will happen.”
He opened the box, took out a stack of money, closed it again, and placed it in front of himself.
Will spoke.
“Seven thousand meters above the White Sea.”
“Then another ten thousand meters above that, you’ll find the White Sea.”
“The air there is extremely thin.”
The masked man picked up the box and walked out without looking back.
And just like that, Will completed his first information transaction in the underworld.
The only problem was that the ridiculous hood had completely ruined what should have been a serious and mysterious atmosphere.